Caravan Adventure (Prep)

To be honest, caravaning was kinda always on my wanna try list but I never thought that I would actually really get down to doing it. Just earlier this year Mikka and me were just still cringing at the thought of clearing pee n poo from these kind of travels when we were just looking around through camper van halls at the CMT fair.. But strangely enough as fate may have it, we decided really out of the blue that we try this out.. So.. Here we are, start of one of many new adventures to come...

Being both newbies to Caravaning, Mikka and myself were kind of clueless as to what we really need to prepare for the trip. Would we need extra cables? Will we need to get a proper camping guide just in case? Thankfully ADAC has all these included in the rental of their camper vans. So, that means we only have to bring our luggages and we're good to go (literally). 

We are talking about camping afterall so how can we not stock up the van a little with food? Hey, I'm Singaporean.. Instant noodles are travel essentials.. Lol... Anyway, we brought along coffee, tea, milo, instant soups, bread and water for our backup rations just in case we ever get hungry and there is no possibilities of getting food (which is more likely than not). 

Bedding is also something that you have to take care of yourselves. Mattress is good for 2 persons (in our small little Globaltrotter) but the shape of it is kinda irregular so bedsheets are good for cover but not the fitted kind. Pillows and covers also has to be brought along.

Mikka picked up the caravan one day ahead and we had everything loaded and ready to go.

Updates to follow up.... 

Starnberger See

Continuing the mini break after Legoland, we drove approx. another 1.5hrs thru Munich to Starnberg. Our next destination... The lake - Starnberger see...

After check in at our hotel - Hotel Residence Starnberger See - we freshened up a little and then went on our hunt for the next Beer Garden we can find. When you are in Bayern (Bavaria), you look for beer garden food!!...

At the recommendation of the hotel receptionist, the nearest one to us is Tutzinger Biergarten and that was where we went...

Took awhile before we made the turn into the small little road leading up to this beautiful beer garden by the lake.. Our stomachs were already growling with a vengeance by the time we arrived.. Stepping out of the car, we were greeted with the smell of BBQ fish.. Heavenly... 

Stangerl Fisch

We had our fills and took our time to soak in the beautiful view of the sunset by the lake.. Priceless!!...

Day 2 started with a decent breakfast at the hotel. We then drove down to Starnberg Port where our little (approx) 3hr roundabout cruise starts (and ends... lol).

The beautiful Starnberger see is only 1 of 5 lakes in this region - Fünfseeland.. If we have the time and chance, maybe we can make a trip to visit all of them..

As it was still early, we also made a trip to the oldest pilgrimage church in Bavaria since 1850 - Kloster Andechs.. The interior of the church was simply breathtaking...

Interior of the church

We decided to be adventurous and made the climb to the top of the bell tower.. Do not try this if you are afraid of heights and claustrophobic... 

Interior of the bell tower

Exterior of the bell tower

The last adventure of the day was the forest climb (in my flimsy sandals) to the 'König Ludwig II Gedenkstätte' where King Ludwig was said to have drowned. A church was built at this point in remembrance of him.

Memorial cross (the small one) at the spot where King Ludwig's body was found

So.. that's the end of our short 2 day break... Looking forward to the next one but I hope we don't get sunburnt again.. Lol...

L E G O L A N D Deutschland

2013 has been such a bad travel together with Mikka year. All travel plans were either made alone or not materialized... I felt that we really needed a short break away - Together...

We decided to do a short getaway starting with Legoland!!...

Have been talking about visiting this place for a long time but never did get down to planning it. Since its only about 1.5hrs away from here, why should we not include it in our 'mini vacation'?

It was no surprise that the moment we got out of the car in the parking lot, we were more or less surrounded by kids (of all ages ranging from 3 - 80)... Lol... It's afterall a kids paradise... 

Since we already got our entrance tickets online, there was no need to queue to get them (thank God!!)... That saved us at least 20mins. 

 

First thing that hit you after u push past the entrance bar was "Now I remember why we love Lego".... Tiny pieces of coloured plastic bricks put together to become all kinds of fantastic and amazing figures... WOW!!!... As you go further into the park, big and small figurines always never fail to keep the smile on your face along the way...

There are rides, 4D films, live animal shows.. Something for everyone in the family. For those who prefer to walk around, there's the miniature land that is absolutely gorgeous.. Mini versions of Berlin, Amsterdam, Castle Neuschwanstein to name a few. Also, for all those Star Wars fans.. of course you can find your favourite characters build up from what else but - Lego bricks... 

Tip for those who want to visit.. Double up on the batteries for your camera and phones.. You WILL make lots and lots of pictures.. 

Castle Neuschwanstein 

Das Rote Rathaus in Berlin 

Amsterdam 

Hamburg 

Allianz Arena München

Chicken Baked Rice (Tomato Based)

Coming home from work and cracking my head to think of what to cook everyday can be quite a feat.. I am always trying to find the easiest recipes to prepare. And this is also why I adore oven baked dishes. Throw them in and forget about it until the timer beeps..

Recently I came across a cream based chicken baked rice recipe but Mikka can't take too much cream (and its also not good for my waistline.. haha) so I decided to alter the original recipe a little and made mine into a tomato based one instead.

Like I said, fast and easy is my thing so I used a lot of short cuts. For those who might be interested, here's the recipe :-

Ingredients

(Serves 2-3)

- 1 cup cooked rice

- 1 onoin, diced

- 200g (white or brown) button mushrooms, sliced

- 2pcs chicken fillet (breaded or grilled) - Cooked & cut into thick strips,

- 15g garlic butter

- 5 - 6 tbsp pasta sauce of your choice / 2 - 3 tbsp to spread over rice

- Shredded Cheese (I used emmentaler)

- White asparagus (or whatever veggie of your choice)

- Salt & Pepper

- Parsley (garnishing)

Directions

1. In a heated wok or saucepan, melt the butter. Add the sliced mushrooms, onions and asparagus, stir-fry for a few minutes until the veggies are soft. Add 5 - 6 tablespoons of pasta sauce and some salt to taste.

2. Portion out the rice into individual oven-safe baking dishes (or use a 20cm x 20 cm square alumnium tray) until about half the height of the dish.

4. Spread some pasta sauce on top of the rice, and topped with a layer of fried mushrooms, asparagus and onion. Place the chicken slices and top with shredded cheese.

5. Baked in a pre-heated oven at 200°C for about 20-25 minutes, or until all the cheese melted and is very slightly browned. Garnish with parsley.

Natural Detox Water

Came across some natural detox water recipes about a month ago and I was kinda fascinated... Always wanted to make some of these but never had the time nor right ingredients at hand... So, I decided to do a classic with the simplest ingredients..
For those who are also interested can give it a try... Easy and healthy.. Great for the summer too..

Cucumber + Lemon + Mint

Ingredients :-
1 medium cucumber
1 lemon
20 mint leaves
1-2 liters water

Cut cucumber and lemon into thin slices. Place cucumber and lemon slices together with the mint leaves in a jar.
Add water and refrigerate overnight.

And.. It's that easy... Have fun!!...

From Textbooks to Spreadsheets...

This picture was snapped with my mobile phone and I'm sooooo proud of the result... =)

It has been a long while since I have written anything.. Feel bad about it.. Lol..

Well, it has been a smooth transition moving from my school textbooks to my work excel sheets. The company is no stranger to me. I was working for this firm for close to 10 years back in Singapore so when they asked me if I wanted to work for them again here at HQ was simply to say.. Godsend... I know of people who try so hard to get a job here in Germany but failed to do so cos of language and other problems so I am really thankful I did not need to join in the ranks of searching for a job myself.

Other than landing myself a job, I also made a trip back to

Singapore during Chinese New Year... Boy.. How I missed everyone and everything back home.. No matter how well you can adjust to new environments, there's just this place deep in your heart that you will always remember as home.. =)

A friend mentioned recently to me that with all these new technology, people are losing the 'personal touch' unlike years ago when they actually 'talk' to each other and not only thru texting and emails. It hit me that this is really the case nowadays.. Sad but true. On the other hand, without these technologies then people like me who is so far away from home would really be isolated..

Looking forward to goin back home again next year..

Now that I have started writing again, will update soon!!... =)